Conventionally, in weft knitting machines, fabrics have been knitted as various product patterns. FIG. 22 shows a typical pattern of a knitted fabric as a glove 1. The glove 1 is constituted by finger pockets for each finger comprising a little finger portion 2a, a ring finger portion 2b, a middle finger portion 2c, an index finger portion 2d, and a thumb portion 3, a four finger body 4, a five finger body 5, and a wrist portion 6. When the glove 1 is knitted with a weft knitting machine provided with front and rear needle beds, for example, after the finger pockets of the little finger portion 2a, the ring finger portion 2b, the middle finger portion 2c, and the index finger portion 2d are knitted one after another, the four finger body 4 is knitted, and then the finger pocket of the thumb portion 3 is knitted, and the five finger body 5 and the wrist portion 6 are knitted. With respect to the finger pockets for each finger, for example, knitting is started from a tip end, and a portion up to a finger base, which is to be attached to the four finger portion 4, is knitted with tubular plain stitch using the front and rear needle beds. When the finger pocket is knitted up to the finger base, then the finger tip of the next finger pocket is knitted. At that time, in a case where a knitting yarn is not cut, crossing yarns 7a, 7b, and 7c as indicated by phantom lines are generated. After the knitting yarn that becomes the crossing yarn 7a, 7b, or 7c is cut, the end yarn treatment is performed on end yarns 8a, 8b, and 8c generated on the side of the knitted fabric of the glove 1 with respect to the cut point, and end yarns 9a, 9b, and 9c generated on the side of yarn feeding with a yarn feeder or the like.
In the end yarn treatment, for example, before starting to knit the finger pocket of the ring finger portion 2b, the crossing yarn 7a crossing from a knitting needle holding the knitted fabric of the finger pocket that is knitted as the little finger portion 2a to the yarn feeder is cut after being pulled in below a knitting port at which the front and rear needle beds are opposed to each other and knitting is performed by letting the knitting needles move back and forth. The end yarn treatment is performed by inserting each of the end yarns 8a and 9a generated by the cutting into the knitted fabric with air injection, for example (see Japanese Examined Patent Publication JP-B2 49-111(1974), for example). Furthermore, as another end yarn treatment, a treatment is also performed in which the end yarns 8a, 8b, and 8c on the side of the knitted fabric are not held, but the end yarns 9a, 9b, and 9c on the side of the yarn feeder are held, and after starting to knit the finger tip of the next ring finger portion 2b, the held end yarns 9a, 9b, and 9c are inserted into the finger pockets with air injection (see Japanese Examined Patent Publications JP-B2 48-24421(1973) and JP-B2 1-51574(1989), for example).
A knitting port at which the front and rear needle beds face each other and knitting a fabric is carried out by letting the knitting needles move back and forth is also referred to as a needle bed gap. There is also an apparatus in which a gripper for pulling upward a crossing yarn generated between knitted fabrics from the position that is proximal to the needle bed gap toward the upper portion and for gripping the crossing yarn on the side of the yarn feeder is provided and the knitting yarn between the gripper and the knitting needle holding the knitted fabric is cut at the position (see Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication JP-A 8-325901(1996), for example). The knitting yarn is cut in a cut mechanism that is similar to scissors, and the gripper and the scissors are driven with a motor, which is same operation means. While an end yarn is held by the gripper and cut with the scissors, a free movement with a cushion of a torsion coil spring and a grip pressure are utilized.
There is also an apparatus in which a knitting yarn is cut below the needle bed gap, and the end yarn treatment is performed by hooking the knitting yarn on a hook above the needle bed gap (see Japanese Examined Patent Publication JP-B2 3347079, for example). An end yarn on the side of the finger base, of a yarn crossing from a knitting needle to the yarn feeder above the needle bed gap, such as a yarn crossing from the finger base to the finger tip that is to be knitted next, is released after the cutting.
With the methods for inserting an end yarn into a finger pocket with air as disclosed in JP-B2 49-111(1974), JP-B2 48-24421(1973), and JP-B2 1-51574(1989), it is difficult to reliably guide an end yarn into a finger pocket. A knitting yarn is elastic and a tensile force is also applied to the knitting yarn, and thus when the knitting yarn is cut off, the position of the end yarns is not stabilized. Since this is a treatment for unstabilized end yarns, the end yarns are irregularly knitted into the knitted fabric-that is being knitted, and thus the product becomes non-uniform.
In the end yarn treatment in JP-A 8-325901(1996), the distance between the cut position and the gripper is small, but the distance between the cut position and the knitting needle is large. In recent years, as the glove 1 as shown in FIG. 22, a hard yarn such as aramid fiber has been used in order to improve the protection performance. When cutting such a hard yarn, the blades of scissors slip and thus it is impossible to reliably perform the cutting. The end yarn on the side of the knitting needle after the cutting is left without any treatment after the cutting, and thus even when the end yarn is pulled into a finger pocket with an elastic force, the end yarn is only irregularly knitted into the knitted fabric, so that the treatment is different from product to product and becomes non-uniform. With respect to the end yarn on the side of the gripper, the yarn end is released at the position above the knitting needle, and thus the end yarn is irregularly knitted into the knitted fabric, and thus the product becomes non-uniform. Furthermore, the gripping of the knitting yarn with the gripper and the cutting with the scissors are driven with the same operation means, and while a yarn end is gripped with the gripper and cut with the scissors, a free movement with a torsion coil spring and a grip pressure are utilized, and thus a resisting force is applied to a support rod and a key of a gripper driving member in order to move the gripper driving block while keeping a state in which the yarn end is gripped, so that the durability and the stability are impaired.
In the end yarn treatment in Japanese Patent No. 3347079, when a yarn crossing from the finger base of the finger pocket that has been knitted to the finger tip that is to be knitted next is cut, the end yarn on the side of the finger base is left without any treatment after the cutting. Accordingly, there is a case in which the end yarn is irregularly knitted into with a knitting needle knitting the next finger pocket or a knitting needle knitting the body. There is a possibility that the end yarn that is hooked on the hook drops off the hook while the end yarn is cut in the lower portion of the needle bed gap and moves upward to be gripped with a yarn press.